


The Red and White Dragons

by SandrockTrinity



Series: British Hetalia [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Anciet time, Dragons, Magic, Merlin - Freeform, Other, Roman Empire, red dragon - Freeform, white dragon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7259239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandrockTrinity/pseuds/SandrockTrinity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wales and England had always been close, but after Rome left their relationship started to change. No longer did they sing and play together, instead they fought each other...<br/>Who knew that this would all start from a story about two dragons</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Red and White Dragons

A long time ago, in an ancient land far to the north there lived a small kingdom full of life and happiness. The kingdom was ruled by a great King with a beautiful Queen at his side. Both ruled the kingdom fairly and in return the people loved them. The lands they governed were filled with lush rolling green hills, tall mountains that touched the sky and beautiful lakes that danced in the sun light. The kingdom was happy and prosperous, it was the envy of its surrounding neighbours.  
One day, not long after the birth of the King and Queen's son the kingdom was attacked from its neighbours. The battles raged on and seemed to have no end. To save his people and his land from the invaders the new King ordered a castle to be built to defend them. As months passed by and summer turned to winter there was still no sign of progress on the castle. The Kings men proclaimed that every night a violent force would come and destroy the castle before more progress could be made. Annoyed by this the King and his men camped near the hill to see what was happening to his castle. The King imagined the problem to happen because of their neighbours, but what he saw was something far different.  
As the sun began to set and the workers had all but vanished the wind picked up and startled the group of warriors waiting for their enemy. Looking to the sky the King saw that it was not his enemy that had caused devastation to his castle but two mighty forces that he had never laid eyes on. There on opposite end of the castle stood two mighty dragons. One stood tall on its hind legs roaring into the sky, it's scales as white as snow; the other stood on all four legs, spitting fire that matched its red scales. The group of warriors continued to watch as the two beasts of the sky battled each other, trampling the work of their fellow kinsmen. Scratches, bites, fire and ice were thrown with no end in sight, a trusted warrior called out to his King for guidance. The King did nothing but warn them to stand back and watch the dragons fight, they could not stop the beasts nor could they flee from the sight of the two.  
With two mighty roars the beasts flew into the air high above the cloud so that the warriors could not see. All they could do was watch the silhouettes of the dragons dance in the sky and listen to their cries of anger and pain. As the moon reached its peak in the sky the dragons once more came into view. Wrapped around each other, both hoping to pin the other dragon down they fell from the sky. The King watched on as he saw the two dragons plummet into the lake beside his castle. When the water settled the dragons were once more out of sight, the warriors and their King waited for any sign of the dragons to appear. Until sunrise they waited, but not once did the dragons appear from the lake. As workers arrived to see their work in ruins, the King turned from the last sight of the two powerful beasts and commanded his men home. No arguement was heard and no objection crossed their minds. Slowly the warriors walked home to their families and the workers began their work once more, the King looked over his shoulder at the battle ground of the dragons. With one last glance he turned away from the battlefield and towards his Queen. Never again would he see those dragons and never again would he see the beauty and power of the mighty beasts...

* * *

 

"Wow that is an amazing story," Wales smiled as he listened to the young boy tell the story. The boy was no taller than Wales, with short choppy hair and dark brown eyes. The little boy laughed at the amazement in the nations expression. The little boy of course did not know who this strange and mysterious boy who he would play in the woods was, but he loved to tell him stories that he dreamt of.  
"The red dragon sounds amazing, if I could be any dragon I would be the red one," Wales laughed and stood up spreading his arms and roaring with his voice, only to make the other boy laugh more.  
"You would be the strongest dragon out there," the young boy complimented as he watched the mysterious Wales run around their little clearing pretending to be a dragon. "If only dragons existed," the little boy whispered.  
"But they do," Wales smiled and skidded to a halt in front of the other boy. "They're just sleeping right now." Wales reached out a hand to the little boy, a large smile on his face, "one day I will show you them." The little boy laughed at his mysterious friend,  
"Then I can't wait to see them." The little boy turned and looked at the sky, noticing the sun was about to set. Quickly the boy jumped to his feet in a panic, "I must go. Mama will be worried." He patted his friend on the shoulder and smiled, "See you again soon."  
Wales smiled and waved as the boy ran off to the little village not too far away from the forest,  
"Take care Emrys."  
Walking slowly back to his little camp Wales sung to himself happily. He was always happy after seeing Emrys. Emrys was a friendly human that he enjoyed spending his time with, much better than Rome's men. As he came to the camp he stopped his singing and watched as Roman warriors moved around the camp. Some were collecting supplies, others were cooking food and others were sitting around a fire and laughing. At the far end of the camp that is where Wales saw the two he was looking for. Sitting by a small campfire slightly away from the other soldiers sat Rome, a big strong nation that had come to protect Wales and England from their dangerous brothers, or at least that is what Rome had said. On his lap sat Wales' little brother England, wrapped up in the green cloak he loved, listening to stories from Rome. As he walked closer to them, England's attention caught Wales, he jumped off Rome's lap and ran to his brother. The two embraced even with their height difference before the two returned to Rome's side to listen to stories about their day. As they munched down on some kind of meat attention was turned to Wales,  
"So what did you do today little dragon?" Wales turned from his bowl of food at the mention of his nick name that Rome had given him. It was a strange name given to him, apparently it came from when Rome first saw Wales and how fierce he looked in battle. Rome had compared him to a dragon and since then it had been his special name for the little nation.  
"I went into the forest and played with a friend. He told me a story about two dragons... A white one and a red one..." Wales began to recant the story told to him by Emrys and Rome and England enjoyed every moment of it. Wales was an amazing story teller, a perfect bard much like many of his people, the two nations were entertained by the story.  
"Beautiful as always," Rome smiled at the little nation and petted his excited head. Rome loved hearing the stories but he feared for the little ones who kept his company. He was not as young as the two before him were. They were young and full of innocence, they did not understand the story and it's true meaning. Rome did however, and it was a sad one to tell. Smiling Rome did not tell the two the truth about the story, nor did he ever let slip that there was more to it...

* * *

 

Standing on the shore much older than the day Rome had first entered their lives, Wales watched as Rome and his men prepared to sail away for the final time. Rome had grown weak in his last few years on their small island, every so often while playing the two younger nations they would hurt him, or he would just appear one day with another mark that had not been there the day before. Quietly the two had not said anything, until now they stood on the sand, watching the men prepare to leave them on their own. It was high morning and soon Rome would leave their shores for good. With his hood up, England sniffled and held back tears that he didn't want anyone to see, one hand holding onto his big brothers. Wales did not cry, nor did he show any emotion as he watched the soldiers pack.  
Soon Rome walked towards the two on the beach, he knelt down to the two little ones that he had watched over for decades. He smiled sadly at how big they had gotten, so much older now with little need of protection, specifically his protection. He pulled the two into one last warm embrace and held them close. He listened to the sniffles of the youngest and felt the eldest shake against him as he held back his tears. Pulling away he watched the two pairs of sad green eyes that landed on him. Looking to the youngest he whispered,  
"Be good and stay strong my little warrior. You are amazing at everything you have done and learnt. Grow up strong." More tears fell from England's eyes that he could not hold back anymore. Rome placed a kiss on his head before turning back to Wales.  
"Take care of your brother, keep singing and telling stories," Rome whispered to the eldest only to recieve a nod. Placing a hand on Wales's cheek he smiled, "remember the story of Dragons you use to tell me?"  
"The Red and White Dragons?" Wales asked softly. Rome nodded and answered,  
"Those were more than just stories Wales. Soon they are going to be real and you will have to deal with it my little dragon." Placing a kiss on Wales's head Rome stood and watched as the two clung to each other. With a sad smile he turned and walked towards the boats, never to set foot on the land again...

* * *

 

Wales cried because of the pain in his arm, the pain caused by his little brother. Hidden in a cave that the two had once shared to keep warm and out of the rain, Wales was hurt with no one to call for help, no little brother to hug, no little brother to sing to, no one... England had known Wales was weak... Alba and Éire had both attacked him not long before... Wales could not fight all of his brothers at once. The tears dripped from his eyes and he didn't care the noise he was making, it was not as if anyone would hear him anyway. The sound of rain outside would drown out any noise he would make, the cold wind swept into the cave and forced Wales further back against the rocks for protection that it would not give.   
"Why do you cry little one?"  
Wales looked up through tear filled eyes at a tall bearded man that stood at the mouth of the cave. His cloak covered most of his body, but his eyes looked almost black in the darkness of the cave. Wales whipped the tears from his eyes and stood up, watching the stranger before him.  
"No reason," Wales answered softly as he hid his arm under his cloak. The old man shook his head and reached an arm out to the young nation.  
"You are hurt little one. I can help you, like you did me so many years ago." The old man took a few steps into the cave and knelt in front of the little nation. He pulled out a small pouch from his cloak and placed it on the ground away from himself, "this will help with the pain."  
Wales watched the man curiously before stepping forward and snatching the pouch, he retreated back to his original spot. Carefully he opened the pouch and saw herbs inside, the herbs were used to heal wounds. Quickly he applied the herbs to most of his injuries before turning back to the man.  
"Thank you," he whispered softly. It was the first act of kindness Wales had experienced in a while and he was grateful to the man.  
"You have not changed a day since I last saw you... But look at me, I am an old man now... I bet you can't even remember me?" The old man lowered himself into a sitting position and leant against the cave wall. Slowly Wales walked over to the man and sat facing him, looking into the man's face Wales could recognise him, a person he could hardly forget.  
"Myrddin Emrys," Wales whispered his name as if they were scared words. The old man nodded at the little nation. "You use to tell me stories of dragons and magic..."  
"Yes I did," Emrys answered with a crack in his voice. Wales watched in confusion as a tear fell from the old man's eyes.  
"What is wrong Emrys? Are you in pain too?" He asked softly and placed a hand out to help his old friend.  
"I am so sorry Cymru..." His voice broke as more tears fell from his eyes, "If only I had known who you were all those years ago... I wouldn't have told you the story of the dragons?" Wales brought up his hands to wipe the tears from the old man's eyes.  
"I love those stories Emrys, you can't say that..."  
"But I am... You see they were not just stories..." A sniffle came from the old man and a hand wiped his brow. "If I had known back then all the trouble I have caused you, I never would have told you the stories..."  
"Why? What is wrong with the stories? Are they wrong?"  
"No... They were a prophecy..."  
"Prophecy?" Wales asked and cocked his head to the side. He had heard of prophecies before but he had never been told them directly by someone. This was his first actual prophecy and it was from a good friend.  
"You use to tell me about your little brother. How you loved him so much and how you two were so close... I'm so sorry Cymru but I am the reason you are not like that with him anymore... I am the reason you and your brother fight? In my prophecy, the two dragons were you and your brother. You are the powerful red dragon and he is the mighty white dragon. You two are destined to fight over the land you both stand upon."  
Wales remained silent as he listened to the old man talk. The story that he loved so much was about him? He was the red dragon? He was destined to fight England? Wales shook his head, Emrys was not the reason that England fought him, England had chosen that himself, Emrys had no involvement in that choice.   
"I-In the story... Neither dragon won... Both fell into the lake and were never seen again... The Kingdom grew and the people were once more happy and won the war against their neighbours..." Emrys nodded,  
"Indeed that is true. Neither dragon won yet neither did one lose... They are locked in an endless battle, even if the people could see it..."  
"Then... England and I... We will always fight each other..." Wales lowered his head, away from the dark eyes of the old man before him.  
"I wish I could change this," Emrys held out his arms and pulled the young nation into his arms. "I am sorry that I have caused this..." Wales couldn't accept that this was always going to be right, he trusted Emrys more than any other human he had ever met. He had never met another like Emrys and he valued everything that he had done for him, even if he had propheciesed the war between Wales and England. It was his destiny, whether by God or some twist of fate this was his path now. It was from that moment that Wales understood his role, he understood that he was to be the opposite of England and he would accept that, however hard it may be. Pulling away from his old friend, Wales looked up into the dark brown eyes he so dearly trusted.  
"Alright then... I will be the Red Dragon... If I am to face England for eternity then I will bear the symbol of the prophecy on my shoulders... I am the Red Dragon. I am powerful and I breath fire... I will not give up without a fight..." Wales smiled at the old man, "I am the Land of the Red Dragon and I will tell the story of you and the prophecy to all who will listen... You are my greatest friend Emrys, and I thank you for telling me this... I thank you for your help and will only ask this one thing of you..."  
"Cymru I will do anything you ask," Emrys answered as the tears dried on his cheeks.  
"Do not cry for me anymore for my path has been chosen. Instead trust in me and believe that I will do what is right for the people. I do not ask for you to fight for me, nor do I ask you to change the prophecy. I merely want you to remember that I am a Dragon, I am powerful, I am strong and I protect this land..."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Myrddin Emrys = Merlin  
> Cymru = Wales  
> The Red and White Dragon = This was a reinterpretation on the story of the red and white dragons. There are two main different versions of the story:   
> 1) involving two dragons fighting over a kingdom, with the red dragon suggesting the arrival of King Arthur.  
> 2) Involves King Vortigern attempting to creat a citadel on a mountain where two dragons sleep. His version involves Merlin as a little boy who prophecies that two peoples will fight over the land endlessly. The red dragon representing Vortigern's people and the white representing the Anglo-Saxons.


End file.
